Water coming out of conduit around water main in basement

[karenmarie031]

If there’s water coming in from the sleeve in the floor and going out a floor drain then the water table’s not above the basement floor. I still think the water’s getting into the sleeve at a higher elevation.

Does the floor drain go to your french drain system or your septic system?

We don’t have a septic system. In the photos from home construction that I posted, two of the things shown in the concrete slab are our laundry room and garage drains. They were installed when we built our house. I assume that they both connect to the public sewer connection in our back yard.

The sewer manhole is slightly downhill from the end of my house.

The other thing that may be relevant is that when hurricane Ivan happened years ago, we had a crazy amount of rain. A lot of people’s houses flooded, but we didn’t get any water in our basement.

Also, I did randomly remove the top layer of dirt in various places in our yard yesterday to see if the soil was wet. The soil is damp very close to the surface in various places that I tested in both my front and back yards. It is also still wet where the 12” pipe that diverts rainwater from the main road ends on my property. We haven’t had any rain in about a week now. We did have a wet winter and significant (over 1”) amounts of rain before the dry period started.

*** Edited to add more information ***

 

[wpns]

OK, I guess I’m having trouble understanding the various elevations. However, if your basement is in a state where “a River runs through it“, I would think you would want to track down the root cause.

If your water meter is not turning, then you’re not paying for the water if it’s leaking from the city water supply, But if it’s not ground water, then I would think you would want to get the city to stop the leak before you get some kind of soil subsidence, or a sinkhole.

 

[karenmarie031]

OK, I guess I’m having trouble understanding the various elevations. However, if your basement is in a state where “a River runs through it“, I would think you would want to track down the root cause.

If your water meter is not turning, then you’re not paying for the water if it’s leaking from the city water supply, But if it’s not ground water, then I would think you would want to get the city to stop the leak before you get some kind of soil subsidence, or a sinkhole.

The water flow is definitely not river like. It is more like having your faucet on so that it is a steady stream of water, about the amount that could come out of a drinking straw if you attached it to your kitchen sink somehow.

This flow continues 24/7.

Regarding the elevation, our house is downhill from the main road and our backyard also slopes down. Think of it like a great sled riding hill. Our house sits in the middle part of that sled riding hill. So any rainwater runoff from above comes down the hill toward our house. That is why we installed the 12” pipe to divert water from the road. It was making our front yard really mushy after rains and some of the runoff was coming under our garage door during hard rains.

So do you think there is a water main break causing the problem then instead of just built up rainwater? If so, I want to address that.

However, I removed the top layer of soil at various places in both my front and back yards and it was wet under the surface soil. I doubt that a water main leak would affect all of the locations that I tested.

 

[wpns]

This flow continues 24/7.

That would be a concern for me. OK, it's a tiny river, but if it's running 24x7x365 then I'd want to know where it's coming from, and if I were the town I'd want to find the leak and fix it (unless it's a spring or something).

Don't call them after a rain, but wait till it hasn't rained for a week or so and see if it's still running and then tell them _they_ might have a problem.

 

[karenmarie031]

Also, I did randomly remove the top layer of dirt in various places in our yard yesterday to see if the soil was wet. The soil is damp very close to the surface in various places that I tested in both my front and back yards. It is also still wet where the 12” pipe that diverts rainwater from the main road ends on my property. We haven’t had any rain in about a week now. We did have a wet winter and significant (over 1”) amounts of rain before the dry period started.

Since the dirt is damp slightly below the surface in many places throughout my front and back yards, what does everyone think about the cause of my issue?

If it is likely a break in the water main, despite no change in water pressure, no discoloration of water in our house, no soft spots in our yard, and no visible water in our house (except coming out of the sleeve), and since the sleeve had previously filled with water and dripped down the side of it after a previous large rainstorm but stopped dripping on its own after a few weeks, I can start the process with a company regarding a potential water main break. The water company is only responsible up to the shutoff box near the main road.

If it is most likely related to having clay soil, combined with a very wet winter and a storm that recently brought over an inch of rain, then what should I do next? The grass has just started to grow and the temperatures are just starting to get hot enough to really dry things up.

The part that concerns me is that I have a 24/7 flow of water about the amount that can travel through a drinking straw.

Although I have diverted the water into a floor drain (which is not overflowing), now I am worried that a continual flow of water, although small, could cause a sinkhole under my house.

It is supposed to be hot today, tomorrow and part of Saturday before the next big rainstorm.

Please offer advice. I am stressed out about this.

 

[MicEd69]

If there’s water coming in from the sleeve in the floor and going out a floor drain then the water table’s not above the basement floor. I still think the water’s getting into the sleeve at a higher elevation.

Does the floor drain go to your french drain system or your septic system?

Since I already made one wrong assumption here, let me put forth another assumption that may be wrong.

I'm assuming the floor drain is connected to the sewer system and not the French drain system around the foundation. If that is a correct assumption, then the water table is still the likely culprit. But yes, the water may be entering the sleeve at a higher elevation where the water table is higher, and the water table level at the foundation may be lower than the basement floor.

 

[karenmarie031]

Since I already made one wrong assumption here, let me put forth another assumption that may be wrong.

I'm assuming the floor drain is connected to the sewer system and not the French drain system around the foundation. If that is a correct assumption, then the water table is still the likely culprit. But yes, the water may be entering the sleeve at a higher elevation where the water table is higher, and the water table level at the foundation may be lower than the basement floor.

The floor drains are definitely not connected to the French drains that I installed. I assume that they connect to the sewer that is slightly downhill from the house, but I don’t know that for sure. I do know that there is not a visible drain pipe in my yard. It is possible that the the builder buried it somewhere when he did the landscaping, but there are not any obviously wet spots in the yard near the foundation. With that siphon tubing draining 24/7, I assume there would be a wet spot, but I really don’t know how drains/plumbing works, which is why I am asking for advice here.

 

[CT18]

All areas do it different. I have worked on homes that had no city storm drains and those got sump pumps. I have done homes where we ran a drain around the footers of the basement and then tied that into the storm drain out in the street. I have also been in areas where the storm and sanitary tied into the city sanitary, they frown on that now a days. I don't think you have a leak and are just getting seepage from the thaw and rain. You could do like I did on one of the houses I owned that had a 9' deep pool. I had to paint it so I drained it and drilled a few holes in the bottom. The pool company said I should do that incase the water table was high, if I didn't relive the pressure it would have lifted my pool, they said. You could drill a hole in your basement floor and see if you get water. I patched the holes in my pool with rubber plugs and hydraulic cement.